NORTH Yorkshire County Council has lodged "strenuous objections" to plans to close four of the county's magistrates courts.

The authority has written to Paul Bradley, the justices' chief executive of the North Yorkshire Magistrates Courts Service, saying it fears plans to close the courts at Pickering, Selby, Whitby and Richmond would "remove local justice from the hands of local people". Under the plans, only the courthouses in York, Harrogate, Northallerton, Scarborough and Skipton would remain open.

Councillor Murray Naylor, the council's executive member with corporate responsibilities, said: "Local services should be delivered locally, even if that is at an additional cost in sparsely populated rural areas.

"The great benefit of having local courts is that they are presided over by local magistrates who are familiar with local areas, the people who live in them, and how they operate."

Coun Naylor said the move would also discourage people from becoming magistrates, if the distance to work was too far, and could also discourage potential witnesses in criminal cases from coming forward.

Most of North Yorkshire's district and borough councils have also opposed the plans. But the county council, and City of York Council, have the greatest sway, as they help fund the service.

Mr Bradley said: "It is fair to say that the vast majority of responses on our consultation have been opposed to the proposals. But we have had positive responses from many quarters, including the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Probation Service has not objected."

The courts committee is due to discuss the responses on January 30.

Updated: 10:14 Tuesday, January 22, 2002